Debbie Callahan was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana and from an early age showed interest in painting and drawing. In recent years she has worked primarily in chalk pastel, acrylic paint, and watercolor, doing mostly figurative and still life paintings. She paints traditional subject matter in an untraditional way. Her lines are often hazy, colors muted and forms simplified. The colors often run into each other. Debbie’s compositions are rarely complicated; she prefers to keep the focus directed on the subject without many distractions in the painting. She tries to integrate these components into a cohesive painting.

To Debbie, artists are born, not created. She has always known she was an artist. She believes, in many ways, an artist’s skills are self-taught. A formal art education can teach us many things about the process but only by having awareness and listening to our own voices can we develop our own unique style of expressing ourselves.

Debbie has exhibited widely, received several awards, and her work has been included in numerous exhibit periodicals and catalogues. One of Debbie’s pieces, Madonna & Child, was chosen from over 100 submissions to be featured on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Christmas Day 2012 as the “Gift of Art” to Wisconsin from the publishers.

She is self-represented in her own gallery, The Martini Girls Gallery & Studio LLC, and is currently working on creating art journals, watercolors on hand made papers, as well as curating and producing group art exhibits. Debbie is active in several art organizations and related activities. She hopes to continue to have an awareness of her inner voice and an expression of it in her paintings.

The autobiographical nature of many of my paintings is a therapy of sorts, and has given me the opportunity to look at memories of myself as a little girl from the safer distance of years. I follow the trail of thoughts, the chaos of that time when I had no voice, and put them to paper and create beauty from the pain, a platform to be heard. And my art continues to evolve into further explorations of childhood, in figure and plein air work, especially the plein air allows me to escape into a more soothing and tranquil place to rest and renew.

In 2013, Cherie was introduced to plein air painting (painting outdoors), and fell in love with it. She has been participating in many plein air events in the area for the past 4 years. Cherie prefers to work in watercolors and acrylics. Her website is www.cherieraffel.com.

A native Wisconsinite, Cherie Raffel loves to paint outdoors to capture the seasonal changes. She also loves to paint flowers. Cherie began painting as a child, and won 1st place in the national contest, “What America Means to Me” sponsored by Standard Oil when she was 12. More recently, she has won several awards in the League of Milwaukee seasonal shows. When asked about what influences her as an artist, she said “I found that being a painter is the best way to express the full range of beauty in nature.” Cherie’s use of color, rhythm, and light invite the viewer to see the subject in a new way.

Julie San Felipe spent her early years in Chicago, and has since lived in the Milwaukee area, currently residing in New Berlin, WI. She has always had an interest in art and words as long as she can remember. Her artistic background includes classes at UW Milwaukee, MIAD, and MATC, that included calligraphy, painting, drawing, art history, framing, and literature. She teaches Irish calligraphy.

Self-study of ancient manuscripts, researching and sampling original materials, meditating over illuminated pages, and understanding and appreciating the dedication of the monks and other artists, she continues to learn using modern techniques. Her participation and love of dance, the Irish language, reading poetry, travels to Ireland and Northern Wisconsin, and music, provide a strong presence in her work.

All of the materials and tools she uses are professional grade, the best paints and paper in the industry, and museum quality archival mats and framing, intended to last nearly forever, (but as with all watercolors, should be kept from long periods of direct sunlight).

The poetry, prose, and songs used in the artwork are either in the public domain or permission was kindly given by the authors. Writers, musicians, and all artists and owners of intellectual property should receive credit and compensation for their work. Talented people are a pleasure to correspond and work with. The words and translations are found on the back of all her framed art.

Calligraphic paintings in watercolor, of figures drifting in and out of poetry,

WEAVING OLDEN DANCES, MINGLING HANDS AND MINGLING GLANCES,

Flirting between reality and ancient, traditional Celtic art.

Hand written words, flowing across paper, telling tales with imagination and originality

And WITH A FULL BUT SOFT EMOTION LIKE THE SWELL OF SUMMER’S OCEAN,

Where the love of poems and a need for art merge.

Layers of vivid and intense colors overlapping with symbolism and humor

Where THE MOON NEVER SLEEPS WITHOUT BRINGING ME DREAMS

About the lingering passion of place, visits with Ireland, and the nature of Wisconsin.